Day 269 – Jesus’ Sending of the 12

• Jesus has brought His group of disciples together, spending time teaching them and provoing His credentials through His teaching and miracles. Now came the time for Jesus to send the twelve men out into the nearby towns to share the gospel.
• Why do you think Jesus chose to have 12 disciples? Does this number ring a bell for you? What might it be a reference to?
• Why do you think Jesus wanted the disciples to go out, rather than go Himself to every town?
• Before Jesus sent them out, what many things did he warn them about, especially in Matthew 10:16-23? Did Jesus paint an easy picture of their work? What encouragement  did He give to His disciples when they were persecuted?
• Verse 16 talks of serpents and doves, in regards to being shrewdness and being innocent of wrong. We’ve read of serpents and doves in the Old Testament. How were both pictured in Genesis?
• Matthew 10:5-15 tells us how the disciples were to act. Where were they to preach to specifically?
• What were they to take with them, and what payment were they allowed to take? Why? How do you think comforts such as extra bags, clothes or payment might have affected the disciples as they did their work, or (perhaps even more importantly) how other people viewed them?
• What was Jesus’ call to do in the face of those who didn’t want to hear the message? Was it to keep going and going with the preaching, or to leave and speak to someone else instead? Does this affect the way you might act now?
• Jesus comforted his followers in Matthew 10:26-33. What did He mean when he talked of sparrows?
• Jesus followed that message of comfort with some hard phrases about requiring commitment, coming with a sword, and for making enemies with families. It’s important you understand this. Jesus wasn’t coming to destroy or bring enmity for the sake of it, but He was expecting those who followed Him to put Him number One in their lives, even if that was costly in terms of human relationships. How does this make you feel? When it comes to Jesus or a friend, who do you want to please the most?

Jesus words to his disciples are, of course, for us too. We might not have the power to raise from the dead and perform miracles like the disciples were given, but notice that even with that power, the disciples faced persecution and rejection. We preach the same message to people just like those who heard it 2,000 years ago, and it’s just as important!